1000 days for the planet

Coinciding with the opening of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio +20), Montreal Space for Life is opening the doors of the Base Camp of 1000 Days for the Planet, a three-year expedition aboard the schooner Sedna IV. The expedition is a major contribution to the celebrations of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020.

One of the goals of the Decade is to ensure that by 2020 at the latest, the world's citizens, especially youth and children, know about the value of biodiversity and ways to protect it. A major objective of 1000 Days for the Planet, led by Canadian biologist, filmmaker and explorer and The Green Wave Honorary Ambassador, Jean Lemire, is to raise public awareness of environmental issues and to encourage the
public to act in order to preserve and safeguard biodiversity.

The mission’s Base Camp will allow the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Montreal Botanical Garden to follow the adventures of the 1000 Days’ team. The exhibit invites the world to communicate live with the Sedna crew and learn about their discoveries on the state of biodiversity, at sea and on land.

The Base Camp, based in the University of Montreal’s Biodiversity Centre, is one of several projects and activities coordinated by Montreal Space for Life’s scientific institutions (www.montrealspaceforlife.ca).

“Montreal continues to be a world center in the efforts to halt the loss of biodiversity and build a future of life in harmony with nature. This ‘Base Camp’ project is yet another example of the innovative and dynamic approaches to biodiversity research and education developed by Montreal-based organizations
resuch as Space for Life and 1000 Days for the Planet”, said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“When we connect with nature we discover its wealth. When we can connect with people to share our love for nature, we encourage them to act to preserve it. With the Base Camp, the Sedna IV crew and the visitors of the Botanical Gardens multiply the possibilities to make a difference and contribute to the
United Nations Decade on Biodiversity”, said Jean Lemire.

In 2006, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Montreal Botanical Garden and the University of Montreal signed a letter of intent to promote scientific and technical partnership between Canadian Universities and Research Institutes. In 2010, the Convention Secretariat and the Sedna Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a view to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and engaging the public, in particular children and youth, in the global biodiversity agenda.

The launch of Base Camp takes place on the opening day of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) and on the eve of celebrations marking the twentieth anniversary of the three Rio conventions: on biodiversity, climate change and desertification. The objective of the Rio+20 Conference is to provide a renewed political commitment for sustainable development, to assess progress to date and remaining gaps in the implementation of major summits and results conventions on sustainable development, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, and identify new and emerging challenges, particularly regarding the involvement and participation of civil society.